Ricky Ponting claims BCCI’s disrespect fueled Shreyas Iyer’s rise to greatness

Legendary Australia National Cricket Team skipper and Punjab Kings (PBKS) head coach Ricky Ponting has claimed that the mistreatment by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has made Shreyas Iyer a star performer.

Ricky Ponting also expressed disappointment over Shreyas Iyer not being picked in the India squad for the five-match Test series against England and slammed the BCCI selection committee.

I actually was gutted…but he’s accepted that really well - Ricky Ponting

A major name missing from the 18-player India squad for the England tour was Shreyas Iyer. He has consistently delivered amazing performances in international cricket, IPL, and domestic cricket, but the selection committee still seems not very impressed with his performances.

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In the five Ranji Trophy matches that he played in the 2024-25 season, Iyer slammed 480 runs at an average of 68.57 and improved his game against short-ball to give himself a chance to make it to the Test.

However, the selectors didn't pick him in the squad, even in the absence of some veteran players like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, and Cheteshwar Pujara.

Speaking on The ICC Review of Iyer, before the commencement of the IPL Playoffs, Ricky Ponting said that he was gutted to hear the news of Iyer failing to make the cut in the Indian team for the England tour.

He also revealed that the PBKS skipper quickly moved on from the setback, and his hunger to perform increased. Ponting said:

"I actually was gutted…but he’s accepted that really well and he’s moved on. He’s just got that real hunger in his eyes to do well every time that he plays for us here and wants to win games of cricket and wants to evolve and develop into the best leader and captain that he can be."

Shreyas has done absolutely everything - Ricky Ponting

The Aussie great also raised serious questions over Shreyas Iyer's Test snub, saying that the BCCI selectors picked players in the Test squad based on the IPL and domestic performance but ignored the Punjab skipper, who has "done absolutely everything."

"Certain other players that have been picked in that (Test) squad have done it on the back of good first-class cricket and good IPL seasons leading up to that selection and Shreyas has done absolutely everything the same as some of those other players," Ricky Ponting said.

"So I was disappointed that he didn’t get picked as I actually felt that he would get picked. But he didn’t. And I think that probably makes him a little bit hungrier for us when these playoff games come around."

I enjoy playing a bit of a role with him as we work really well together - Ricky Ponting

Ricky Ponting further talked about his camaraderie and working relationship with Shreyas Iyer, which started way back in 2019 at Delhi Capitals in the Indian Premier League, before the duo reunited at Punjab Kings in 2025.

Ponting said that they work really well together as he takes care of tactical stuff and leaves it to Iyer to execute the plans on the field. Ricky Ponting stated:

"I enjoy playing a bit of a role with him as we work really well together. We talk a lot together about the game and tactics and, I think he said last night that he said ‘that I leave it to Ricky to look after the tactical stuff and pick the players, and then he hands it over to me and I go and execute it out on the field’. And that’s the way we’ve worked, this year and it’s been nice to get that sort of working relationship back together again."

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